I support this proposal. I…

I support this proposal.

I am generally not supportive of any permits to take groundwater for bottling for sale by private companies. Water is a critically important resource and a public good and I don't believe this is an appropriate use of it. However, I recognize that there is a place for bottled water - particularly in communities which currently lack access to safe drinking water - but I would prefer our policies start from the premise that bottled groundwater should not be a profit-driven industry at all, and then work from there into the grey middle area to allow it where and when necessary to support Ontarians' access to drinking water. Our current policies seem to operate in the other direction - allowing bottling of groundwater for private sale quite widely, and now panicking a bit about reigning it back in in light of current science and policy.

I think anything Ontario can do to better understand the science of groundwater resources is a good thing. As is getting a better handle on regulating this industry.